US FTC looking into targeted pricing based on personal data

By Jody Godoy

(Reuters) – The U.S. Federal Trade Commission has launched a study of products that could allow companies to set different prices for consumers based on their locations, past purchases, and other personal data.

The agency said on Tuesday it had ordered Mastercard (NYSE:), JPMorgan Chase (NYSE:), and six other companies to provide information about targeted pricing products, the data they use, who uses them and the effect on prices.

The FTC is seeking the same information from IT services provider Accenture (NYSE:), consulting firm McKinsey & Co., and software providers Pros Holdings Inc, Revionics, Bloomreach, and Task Software.

All of the companies offer products that use consumer data and artificial intelligence or other technology to target prices for individual consumers, the agency said. None of the companies are accused of wrongdoing.

FTC Chair Lina Khan said the study will illuminate a “shadowy ecosystem of pricing middlemen.”

“Firms that harvest Americans’ personal data can put people’s privacy at risk. Now firms could be exploiting this vast trove of personal information to charge people higher prices,” Khan said in a statement.

Online advertising has long used data such as browsing history and device location to determine what ads consumers see.

The agency is concerned similar technology can now be used to set disparate prices, which it calls “surveillance pricing,” or potentially collude with competitors, FTC officials said.

The FTC is already considering rules aimed at protecting consumer privacy and limit what data businesses can collect without consent.